b. Local Educational Administration and the Establishment of School Districts

With respect to the educational administrative system and the establishment of school districts, the actual implementation of the Education System Order revealed a number of inadequacies. As it was originally intended to have the country divided into eight university districts (and later, in April, 1873, it was redivided into seven university districts), in November, 1872, almost immediately following the proclamation of the Education System Order, the Inspectors Office of the First University District was established and in July of the following year a temporary Joint Inspectors Office of University Districts was formed, as stated earlier. However, universities were not established in the remaining university districts, and thus these did not have centers for district level administration. By 1874, one government foreign language school and one government normal school did begin operations within each proposed university district, and in the limited sense that they were the unit for organizing various educational conferences, they served as a focus for educational coordination. However, for all practical purposes the prefecture rather than the university district became the highest unit for local educational administration.

Middle and elementary schools were to be established by prefectural governors in conformity with conditions existing in the various areas. As a prerequisite for eligibility to receive government subsidies, prefectural governments were required to form middle and elementary school districts and appoint their own school district supervisors. This was accomplished in different ways according to the particular prefecture in question. The number of school district supervisors appointed differed from one location to another, though for the most part there were less than provided for under the provisions of the Education System Order. The tasks of these school district supervisors were not made any easier by the frequent discrepancies between the spirit of the Education System Order and local conditions.